New car models for June's declaration are exposed. Li Auto and NIO are making efforts. Will the competition in the second half of the year only get fiercer?
The Shanghai Auto Show and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show in the first half of the year have already sent a key signal: the blockbuster products of new - force automakers and traditional car companies are no longer pure - fuel vehicles. New energy has long become the "top priority" of mainstream car companies.
There is still a quarter of the time until the "Golden September and Silver October". In the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's vehicle model declarations in June, a batch of highly - anticipated new products have come into the public eye, including several new energy vehicles with great highlights. Dianchetong noticed that although the positioning of these new cars varies, they are all the "masterpieces" of their brands. Some are responsible for high - volume sales, while others are very powerful. The early debut of these new cars may influence consumers' car - buying decisions.
Will the Li Auto i6 and the new NIO ES8 lead the trend of high - end pure - electric SUVs?
Among the latest batch of declared new cars, there are only two cars from the new - force camp: the Li Auto i6 and the new - generation NIO ES8.
After years of development in the new energy vehicle market, the high - end pure - electric SUV market is considered a niche segment with little growth potential. On the one hand, a large share of this market has been occupied by the Tesla Model Y, and most domestic pure - electric SUVs that compete with it have not gained much benefit.
On the other hand, NIO, which has been deeply rooted in the high - end pure - electric vehicle market, has a stable monthly sales volume of around 20,000 units after stabilizing its product matrix.
Ultimately, the audience for high - end pure - electric SUVs is relatively small. Consumers with a car - buying budget of over 300,000 yuan either consider fuel SUVs of luxury brands or hybrid SUVs of domestic brands.
So, why do Li Auto and NIO still strengthen their investment in pure - electric SUVs? Perhaps we can find some answers from these two new cars.
Image source: Li Auto official
The Li Auto i6 is positioned as a five - seat mid - to large - sized SUV and is planned to be launched in September this year. Compared with the Li Auto i8, which is confirmed to be launched in July, the Li Auto i6 has a more sporty look as its roof slopes down from the C - pillar due to its five - seat layout.
In terms of size, the Li Auto i6 has a length, width, and height of 4950/1935/1655mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 3000mm. Its body size is similar to that of the Li Auto L6, but the wheelbase of the Li Auto i6 is 80mm longer than that of the Li Auto L6.
In other words, after removing the internal combustion engine, the Li Auto i6 with a prominent wheelbase is more likely to have its entire chassis redesigned, rather than simply electrifying the Li Auto L6.
Image source: Li Auto official
The entire Li Auto i8 series is standard - equipped with a dual - motor four - wheel drive system to ensure sufficient power to drive an SUV with a curb weight of over 2.5 tons. To lower the car - buying threshold, the Li Auto i6 is confirmed to offer two powertrains: a single - motor rear - wheel drive and a dual - motor four - wheel drive. The motor power of the former reaches 250kW, while the latter adds a front - mounted motor with a maximum power of 150kW.
In comparison, the XPeng G9, also a mid - to large - sized pure - electric SUV, has a rear - motor maximum power of 258kW and a front - motor maximum power of 165kW. Therefore, performance is not the main selling point of the Li Auto i6; charging convenience is.
Officially revealed, the entire Li Auto i6 series is standard - equipped with a 5C lithium iron phosphate battery and an 800V high - voltage pure - electric architecture, enabling a 500 - km range after a 10 - minute charge.
This charging speed is very fast, and Li Auto has increased its investment in the charging system since last year. As of June 15, 2025, Li Auto's super - charging network has 2451 super - charging stations across the country, including 830 highway super - charging stations. On this basis, Li Auto can at least compete with Tesla and NIO in first - and second - tier cities.
Image source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
As an "infrastructure powerhouse", NIO no longer has problems with its charging system. However, the sluggish performance of its sub - brands, LeDao and Firefly, in the mid - end market has forced NIO to focus more on its main brand.
The NIO ES8 is priced in the 500,000 - yuan range, which means it is not destined to be a high - volume model for the brand. However, as it is the brand's first product, NIO has made significant investments in the new NIO ES8, rather than simply upgrading the configuration like the new ES6 and new ET5.
First, in terms of design, the new NIO ES8, built on the NT3.0 platform, has undergone obvious changes in its appearance. The front of the car now has the visual impact of Lexus models and may adopt a large front trunk design similar to that of the LeDao L90.
The three perception hardware devices on the roof indicate that the new car will use the latest Tianxing intelligent driving system. Since it is built on the NT3.0 platform and considering its flagship SUV positioning, the new NIO ES8 is very likely to adopt the latest technologies of the NIO ET9, such as the 900V high - voltage architecture and the Tianxing intelligent chassis.
Second, there are upgrades in terms of data. The size of the new NIO ES8 has further increased, with a length, width, and height of 5280/2010/1800mm respectively and a wheelbase of 3130mm. The length has increased by 181mm, and the wheelbase has increased by 60mm, indicating an improvement in space.
The upgrade in performance parameters is also quite significant. The new NIO ES8 is equipped with a dual - motor system with a front - motor power of 180kW and a rear - motor power of 340kW. However, the curb weight has increased from the current 2565kg to 2630kg. It remains to be seen how much the handling and performance output of the new NIO ES8 will be affected.
Image source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
It seems that Li Auto and NIO have very similar product strategies in the high - end pure - electric SUV market, adopting a market approach of "using high - end models to drive the sales of entry - level models".
Li Auto first launched the higher - positioned Li Auto i8, using technological advantages such as 5C super - charging and dual - motor four - wheel drive to attract users' attention. However, the price of over 300,000 yuan will surely deter many users. Subsequently, Li Auto will launch the more entry - level Li Auto i6.
NIO's product strategy is similar. Starting with the NIO ES8, it uses its popularity to boost the sales of entry - level products such as the ET5 and ES6.
To be fair, it is really bold for new - force automakers to enter the high - end pure - electric SUV market. They need to accurately address users' pain points in travel to win customers from luxury brands. At present, new - force pure - electric SUVs that are gradually solving pain points such as charging, performance, and space do have the opportunity to change the current pattern of the high - end SUV market.
The different positioning of new cars reveals the current situation of automakers
New energy is also an important business for traditional automakers. However, judging from the declaration information, traditional automakers have more diverse offerings than new - force automakers. For example, there is the Fanghezi SUV, the Equation Leopard Titanium 7, the Lynk & Co 10 EM - P, a mid - to large - sized hybrid sedan, and Wuling's new family MPV, the Wuling Xingguang 730.
The Leopard series and the Titanium series of Equation Leopard already have distinct characteristics. The former has a stronger off - road flavor, while the latter adds more rounded styles of urban SUVs while retaining the Fanghezi SUV shape. The Equation Leopard Titanium 7 is a Fanghezi SUV with an urban SUV flavor.
Image source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
The body size of the Titanium 7 is indeed larger than that of the Leopard 5. Its length is close to 5m, and the wheelbase reaches 2920mm. Moreover, it has a five - seat layout, so storage capacity will be a major selling point. The approach angle and departure angle of the Titanium 7 are 24 degrees and 25 degrees respectively, smaller than the 35 - degree approach angle and 32 - degree departure angle of the Leopard 5. Its passing ability and off - road performance are not as strong as those of the Leopard 5, but this is just a side effect of increasing the interior space and is still within a reasonable range.
The Titanium 7 does not use a pure - electric powertrain like the Titanium 3. Instead, it is equipped with a 1.5T plug - in hybrid system. The maximum power of the engine and the drive motor are 115kW and 200kW respectively, continuing BYD's electrification advantages.
In the view of Dianchetong, since it is called the Titanium 7 instead of the "Leopard 7", it indicates that the Titanium 7 may continue the technological configuration of the Titanium 3 and have some highlights in terms of comfort and intelligence. Referring to the Leopard 5, which starts at 239,800 yuan, the price range of the Titanium 7 may be around 300,000 yuan, directly competing with popular SUVs such as the Li Auto L7 and the AITO M7.
Image source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
In the view of Dianchetong, the new car is named the Lynk & Co 10 because the Lynk & Co 08 and 09 after the Lynk & Co 07 already have products. To highlight the higher positioning of the new car than the Lynk & Co 07, it is named the Lynk & Co 10.
According to the declaration information, the length and wheelbase of the Lynk & Co 10 EM - P are more prominent than those of the Lynk & Co 07 and the Lynk & Co Z10 sedans. Moreover, the new car is equipped with the latest EM - P intelligent hybrid system consisting of a 1.5T engine + P1 + P3 + P4 motors. Performance will surely be one of the main selling points of the Lynk & Co 10 EM - P.
However, since it is positioned higher than the Lynk & Co Z10, the price range of the Lynk & Co 10 EM - P may be in the 250,000 - 300,000 - yuan range, which will directly compete with models such as the BYD Han L. In this niche market, the most popular models are pure - electric sedans such as the Xiaomi SU7 and the Tesla Model 3, for which performance is their forte. The Lynk & Co 10 EM - P needs to have more highlights to attract more users.
Image source: SAIC - GM - Wuling official
Different from the high - end new - energy transformation of Equation Leopard and Lynk & Co, Wuling's new - energy path still stays within the comfort zones of "high cost - effectiveness" and the "family market".
The Wuling Xingguang 730 is Wuling's new MPV. However, for an MPV with a wheelbase of 2910mm and positioned for family users, its fuel version only offers a 1.5T engine with a maximum power of 130kW, the plug - in hybrid version is only equipped with a 1.5L plug - in hybrid system, and the engine is the same as that of the Wuling Xingguang plug - in hybrid sedan. The pure - electric version is equipped with a drive motor with a maximum power of 100kW, and its maximum power parameter is even lower than that of the pure - electric Wuling Xingguang.
Even though the design concept of the Wuling Xingguang 730 is attractive, with a sliding - door design using hidden rails, the uncompetitive power system clearly shows that the Wuling Xingguang 730 is still an MPV emphasizing cost - effectiveness. Regarding the price, referring to the Wuling Xingguang, which starts at 79,800 yuan, Dianchetong predicts that the starting price of the Wuling Xingguang 730 will be around 150,000 yuan, or even lower.
The reason why BYD and Geely dare to increase their investment in the high - end new - energy market is ultimately because they have the support of the mainstream